


That smudge in the mirror

by thiefofbluefire



Category: Bionicle - All Media Types
Genre: Body Horror, Humanized AU, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 13:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11486940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiefofbluefire/pseuds/thiefofbluefire
Summary: Every toa has something that haunts their slumbering thoughts. For Takanuva, it's himself.





	That smudge in the mirror

There's nothing but white. Here, there, up, down, everywhere. And he's alone. That fact is simultaneously a relief as well as a cause for concern. He blinks and looks around, meaning to get a bearing on where he is. This place; as if he'd been here before, but at the same time, as if he's never been before.  
Takanuva stands without armor or weapons. No tools, not even any clothes now that he thinks about it. Venerable. There is a chill to his bare skin, and he rubs at his arms absent-mindedly. Speaking feels inappropriate, but he tries anyway.  
There is no sound that escapes his mouth.  
This is infinitely terrifying, but not as much so as the sudden feeling of eyes on him. Or perhaps that feeling was always there, and he just now realized it. He turns to look behind him, unprepared for his own reflection staring back, just as freaked out as he is. He relaxes slightly. Keeping his posture straight, looking as the epitome of easygoing confidence, Takanuva approaches the mirror. Or at least where the mirror should be. He stands before his reflection, eyeing the space around it to see where the mirror starts and ends, before he beholds it. An unsightly wound upon his collar bone, dark almost necrotic skin seeming to fester and spread to his chest and shoulder. He looked away from the reflection in horror at what was happening to his body. Beyond tempted to call for help, but not sure if it would come should he even make a sound. He looked back at his reflection, seeing the dark skin spread over him like a drop of ink in a glass of water. A throb of pain shoots through his torso and he tries to lean against the mirror for stability. That is, if his reflection didn't grab him by the shoulders. Takanuva gasps in shock, expecting neither the sudden physical contact, nor how the other him was cold to the touch. And he definitely wasn't prepared for the manic smile that crept across his face, as well as the eyes that turned hungry, and red as blood. He tries to get away, but a toas grip is not to be underestemated, or rivaled. He tries, oh how he tries to escape, but with the given pain that he is in, coupled with the bruising grip from his doppleganger, it's as futile as the sudden harsh bite is inevitable. Takanuva feels the teeth from the other being sink deeply into his already throbbing flesh, worsening the pain. He gasps, thrashes and screams. There is no sound in the void at all.

Takanuva shoots upright in bed with a shriek that is loud enough to frighten away the bird rahi outside. He looks out the window with a violent jerk of his head to see the time. The sky is purple with dawn creeping over the horizon, otherwise known as; earlier than time to get up. He sighed and held his head in his hands, not daring to get up and get ready and look in the mirror just yet. He knows that his eyes are still red at this hour, and he'd rather not see them right now. Instead, he just curls his legs to his chest and rests his chin on his knees, closing his eyes and gaining control of his breathing.  
"Today is a new day," he tells himself. "A new... day."

**Author's Note:**

> I have a headcannon where Takanuva's eyes are blue during the day and red during the night. It's a visual representation of which of his powers, light and shadow, is currently stronger.  
> Also there's no way that people were okay with there being a toa with the power of shadows in any capacity. They'd probably accuse him of being a Makuta.


End file.
